Breakdown of Leo usiku, mimi nitasoma tena maelezo ya mtihani ili nisisahau chochote.
Questions & Answers about Leo usiku, mimi nitasoma tena maelezo ya mtihani ili nisisahau chochote.
Both "Leo usiku" and "Usiku wa leo" are natural and common for tonight.
- Leo usiku = today at night / tonight
- Usiku wa leo = the night of today / tonight (a bit more explicit)
"Usiku leo" without "wa" sounds incomplete or unusual in standard Swahili. When usiku comes first and you want to connect it to leo, you normally say usiku wa leo.
So use:
- Leo usiku (very common in speech)
- Usiku wa leo (also correct and clear)
Yes, you can absolutely drop mimi here.
- Nitasoma already contains the ni- prefix, which means I.
- So both are correct:
- Leo usiku, mimi nitasoma... → emphasizes I (e.g. I will study tonight)
- Leo usiku nitasoma... → neutral statement (I will study tonight)
Use mimi when you want to stress the subject, contrast with someone else, or be very explicit. Otherwise, omit it.
Nitasoma is made of three parts:
- ni- = subject prefix for I
- -ta- = future tense marker
- -soma = verb root read / study
So ni-ta-soma = I will read / I will study.
You can change the subject like this:
- Utasoma = you will read
- Atasoma = he/she will read
- Tutasoma = we will read
- Mtasoma = you (plural) will read
- Watasoma = they will read
Tena mainly has two common uses:
Again / once more
- Nitasoma tena maelezo = I will read the explanations again.
Also / furthermore / in addition
- Tena, usichelewe = Also, don’t be late.
For "more" in the sense of additional amount, you usually use zaidi:
- Nataka kusoma zaidi = I want to study more.
In this sentence, tena clearly means again.
Yes, maelezo is a plural noun in class ma-.
- Singular: elezo (explanation, description) – not very common on its own
- Plural: maelezo (explanations, information, instructions, details)
In many contexts, maelezo is translated as information or instructions even though it's grammatically plural.
So maelezo ya mtihani = exam instructions / exam information / exam details.
Ya is the of connector (possessive/associative) that agrees with the noun class of the first noun.
- Maelezo is in noun class ma- (class 6), which uses ya.
- Structure: [maelezo] [ya] [mtihani]
→ literally: explanations of exam
Other examples with ya in the ma- class:
- Majina ya wanafunzi = names of (the) students
- Mafuta ya kupikia = cooking oil (literally: oil for cooking)
Ili introduces a purpose or goal (so that / in order that):
- Nitasoma... ili nisisahau chochote.
→ I will read... so that I don’t forget anything.
Kwa sababu introduces a reason (because):
- Nitasoma tena maelezo ya mtihani kwa sababu nimesahau baadhi ya mambo.
→ I will read the exam instructions again because I have forgotten some things.
So:
- ili = in order to / so that (future/purpose)
- kwa sababu = because (explains why something is already/actually happening)
Nisisahau is a negative subjunctive form:
- ni- = I
- -si- = negative marker
- -sahau = forget
So nisisahau literally = that I not forget → so that I don’t forget.
In a purpose clause with ili, Swahili normally uses the subjunctive:
- Positive subjunctive: nisahau (that I forget)
- Negative subjunctive: nisisahau (that I not forget)
In this sentence we want not to forget, so the negative subjunctive nisisahau is required, not nisahau.
They are related but used differently:
si as a negative verb form of to be (copula):
- Mimi ni mwanafunzi. = I am a student.
- Mimi si mwanafunzi. = I am not a student.
-si- as a negative infix inside a verb, as in ni-si-sahau:
- nisahau = (that) I forget
- nisisahau = (that) I not forget
So both express negation si, but:
- One is a stand‑alone verb form (si = am not).
- The other is a negative infix inside a conjugated verb.
Chochote means anything / whatever (indefinite, non‑specific).
It comes from:
- kitu = a thing
- kitu chochote = any thing / anything
When the noun is clear from context, Swahili often drops kitu and keeps chochote:
- Nisisahau chochote. = that I don’t forget anything.
Compare:
- Nimekula kitu. = I have eaten something.
- Sijakula chochote. = I haven’t eaten anything.
Chochote is usually used in negative or interrogative contexts, much like anything in English:
- Negative:
- Sikupata chochote. = I didn’t get anything.
- Question:
- Ulipata chochote? = Did you get anything?
In the sentence:
- ili nisisahau chochote
This is a kind of negative context (so that I don’t forget anything).
In a positive statement, you would tend to use kitu / vitu + qualifiers:
- Nilikumbuka vitu vingi. = I remembered many things.
Punctuation in Swahili generally follows the same conventions as in English.
- The comma after Leo usiku is optional but natural because Leo usiku is an introductory time phrase.
- You can write:
- Leo usiku, mimi nitasoma tena...
- Leo usiku mimi nitasoma tena...
Both are acceptable; the comma mainly helps readability, just as in English.
Yes, that sentence is also correct and natural.
Swahili word order is quite flexible with time expressions, once the verb and its objects are in place. All of these are fine:
- Leo usiku, mimi nitasoma tena maelezo ya mtihani...
- Mimi nitasoma tena maelezo ya mtihani leo usiku...
- Nitasoma tena maelezo ya mtihani leo usiku...
The core order that tends to stay is: [subject] [verb] [adverbs like tena] [object] [time] [purposive clause with ili ...]
Time expressions (leo usiku) can appear at the beginning or after the main clause without changing the meaning.